Major Causes of French Revolution

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The Major Causes of the French Revolution The French revolution overthrew the country’s ancient monarchy, proclaimed Liberty, Equality and Fraternity and fought off a hostile Europe. It ushered in a new age, but at a terrible price in blood and human suffering. There were many causes of the Revolution. The French Revolution appears to have been the outcome of both long term and short term factors, which arose from the social and political conditions and conflicts of the ancien regime. The long standing grievances of peasants, townsmen and bourgeoisie; the frustration’s of rising hopes among wealthy and ‘middling’ bourgeoisie and peasants; the distress and breakdown of government; a real (or at least perceived) ‘feudal reaction’; the stubbornness of a privileged aristocracy; the creation of radical ideas among wide sections of the people; a sharp economic and financial crisis; and the successive triggers of state bankruptcy, aristocratic revolt and popular revolution: all these factors played a part. The middle and lower class were becoming more conscious of their increased social importance and because the peasants were becoming more independent, more literate and prosperous that the old feudal freedoms and aristocratic privileges appeared all the more burdensome and intolerable for the struggling discontents of France. For more than one hundred years before the accession of Louis XVI, France was the most powerful country on the European continent. She had held this position for over 150 years, thanks to her fertile land, large population and many resources. However, the government had under gone periodic economic crisis, resulting from long wars, royal mismanagement, losses incurred in the French and Indian War (1756-1763) and Seven Years’ War (1775-1783) and increased debt arising from loans to the American colonies during the American Revolution (1775-1783). The governmental system had worked reasonably well under Louis XIV but had become impossible under his weak successors. The government was corrupt and centralized and the King’s authority had been slowly extended over the country. Under the system, there was a lot of overlapping authority and a great inefficiency in the provincial governments. The only people who could obstruct the royal government in an attempt to save the country was the Parliament of Paris. Unfortunately, its members were only concerned about their own welfare rather than the members of the country. The greatest government weakness was the lack of consistency and order. By 1788, the government was almost bankrupt. The supporters of economic, social and governmental reforms had become increasingly vocal during the reign of Louis XVI. The greatest governmental weakness lay in the lack of order and consistency. The Administration of Justice and Finance were particularly confused and the government fell steadily behind, owed on public debt accounted for 51% off all expenditures (Going broke).1 1- The most hated responsibilities were dues owed to the landlords. Peasants were required to pay to use the mill, bakeoven, and hunting rights. The peasants soon became very discontent with these situations and were willing to listen to revolutionary theories. In 1789 a crisis over finances, resulting in a temporary weakness on the part of the royal government of France, led to the sudden and violent breakthrough of the forces of change and to the overthrow of the old regime of privilege and inequality in the most powerful state in Europe. France having stretched its resources in the war, was left financial crippled and this was the first flames of revolution in France. It was after two years after the war that Calonne, French Financial Minister, was faced with a deficit of nearly a quarter of the nations incomes, declared the state bankrupt and called for drastic measures to overcome it. He believed it wasn’t extravagance that was the problem and he believed the debts could be paid quite quickly if the privileged class paid their share in tax. His theory was that people should pay tax according to how much land they owned. Obviously, this didn’t go down well with people in the first and second estates. They were not used to
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paying taxes and were not about to start. Calonne’s plans of reform three main elements. Firstly came the economic and administrative reforms designed to fix once and for all the structural problems troubling the royal finances. Calonne proposed to recast the tax system by abolishing the vingtimes (common tax) and substituting it for a permanent ‘territorial subvention’ or a land tax. There were to be no exemptions, such as was enjoyed by the clergy. From this reform Calonne expected an increase in revenue or income to help pay off bad debt. Secondly, Calonne believed that the program of economic growth ...

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The author demonstrates a great deal of knowledge about the French Revolution and there is some excellent detail and analysis of different causes. However, the structure could have been better planned to avoid repetition, narrative and drifts in focus. 4 out of 5 stars.